Robyn🫀

So when her nose started running two hours into shift, she just kept with the same prognosis. Swollen sinuses often caused noses to run, sick or not.

She'd managed to make it five more hours before the headache hit, which was only a precursor to the chills that set in a half hour later.

She manages to convince Robby to let her use his medicated nostril spray, there was a steroid in it that was meant to prevent you from getting sick. "But if you're already sick it won't help," he warned, handing it over warily like she was a bomb that might explode.

Which, fair, she did have a lot of mucus building up. But she was a doctor first and foremost, she was supposed to push through right?

Dana, although wary for her health, seemed to understand that Trinity was going to work until she dropped. "At least manage your electrolytes kid, you look flush," she told her, handing her a gatorade.

Exhaustion set in next, and even under the constant barrage of the bright fluorescent lighting, she found herself feeling tired enough she could just find a bed somewhere and sleep.

In a moment of weakness she allows herself the five minutes, hopping up onto a bed in the hall. Just to rest her knees and feet, she’d told herself, which had begun to ache as she neared the 11th hour of her shift. At least that was a normal occurrence.

Its actually Garcia who finds her. Garcia- and not Yolanda. Trinity tries not to mix the two in her head. Not only are they at work but honestly they haven't really spoken in months. That one argument on the Fourth sparked another where Trinity eventually found the self-respect to call it off.

Garcia tried to play it off like it didn't affect her, but they both know it did. After taking a few days off she’d returned without that usual fire under her feet. If Trinity was in the room she would hardly put in the effort to even banter with the staff, Trinity wasn't being iced out per-say, but it was like her presence distracted her.

And besides, Trinity has moved on to greener pastures, so to speak. Or at the very least she's found a new inappropriate crush to keep her attention.

She couldn't help it, Dr. Al-Hashimi was hot and unfortunately she checked all of Trinity's boxes when it came to Inappropriate Crushes on Older Women.

After a few months of babysitting Baran’s son here and there, they’ve become friendlier. Trinity stays the night sometimes when Baran gets home too late, and is on Farouk’s car pick up list. Baran took the liberty of securing Trinity her modified tablet and has been working with her on rebuilding her trust with Langdon (its not perfect but they no longer argue in front of patients).

Their working relationship can be up and down, but if Robby and Whitaker are Batman and Robin, she and Baran are more like Daphne and Velma when working together.

Garcia looks worried when Trinity opens her eyes- oh shit, did she doze off? "Oh my god, I swear if you don't tell anyone about this I'll buy you coffee for a week-" Trinity blurts out, brain quickly catching up with her. Garcia hated signs of poor work behavior, and falling asleep was definitely high on that list.

"Shh," Garcia shushes her, placing a finger over Trinity's lips. She uses the same hand to check Trinity's temperature with the back of her hand against her skin.

Trinity leans in momentarily to the cold contact, her stupid touch-starved body too tired to remember its currently upset with the hands’ owner. "You're burning up. Why'd you come to work like this?"

"You think I would’ve come to work if it was like this when I woke up?" Trinity snarks but Garcia doesn't pull away, she just levels her with a stare. Trinity winces, leaning away from the surgeon, "Look, I'm fine. I thought it was just allergies but now..."

"Now?"

"I'm not so sure now," Trinity shrugs, "I don't usually nap."

Garcia snorts at that at least, "That was what tipped you off? Seriously?!" She asks incredulously, before looking down at her beeping pager.

Garcia, who in certain lights looked suspiciously like Yolanda, curses at whatever message she sees written. She looks around quickly as if trying to determine her next move, and when she's decided she turns back to Trinity and grabs her wrist.

"Come with me." She says and drags Trinity along with her towards the Trauma Bay. Trinity has to ignore the ache in her limbs as she follows behind her to the incoming trauma that she was no doubtly called down for.

Trinity isn't sure where she's supposed to be going but it isn't long before Garcia parks her in front of Dr. Al-Hashimi who seems to be exiting her own trauma.

"Dr. Al, this one needs to go home. You got her?" Garcia asks, nodding to Trinity.

Dr. Al Hashimi turns to greet them and sets her all-knowing gaze onto Trinity. "Home? What's wrong?" She asks, looking between them.

"She's sick." Garcia says.

"I might be sick," Trinity corrects her weakly. "The jury is still out."

They all but ignore her. The two older women seems to have a silent conversation with their eyes before Baran nods at Yolanda, "I got her, you go tend to your trauma."

That seems to be all Garcia needs, she pats Trinity on the back lightly, "Feel better Trinity," she says and turns to enter room.

Now that they're alone, Trinity can't help but feel deja vu back to when she was nine and accidentally got sick during math class. No one had noticed and she had to go up and physically tell her teacher what happened. Embarrassing.

"Come with me Trinity," Baran says, and although she keeps her tone light, Trinity knows by now not to test her on duty. She follows behind her and lets herself be ushered into a nearby exam room.

Trinity realizes that the Baran she’s following is not the fun Baran who drinks wine with her after returning home from work while Trinity babysits Farouk all day, the one who lets her guard down and carefully helps blurring the line between professional and romantic.

This Baran is the not-so-fun Dr. Robot Al-Hashimi who tends to have a stick up her butt. Greeaat.

"When exactly did this start?" Baran asks, applying hand sanitizer to her hands on instinct and gloving up.

"This morning. I woke up and my tonsils felt huge. I did a saltwater rinse and it got better though. Now I just have a runny nose, headache, and I've been holding back my coughs for the last two hours." Trinity sighs, using the step stool hop up on the exam table.

"My money's on the flu." Baran remarks, "May I?" She asks, waiting for permission before touching Trinity. Trinity nods her permission and tries not to groan while Baran massages the area around her sinuses.

She takes her vitals next. "102.1- Santos!" Dr. Al-Hashimi scolds, as if Trinity could control her own temperature. Trinity winces, "I'm sorry! I took some ibuprofen earlier and Robby's stupid nose spray- I probably can't feel how bad it actually is." She explains.

Baran doesn't seem amused but she lets the issue drop, "Hold out your tongue." She orders, moving to swab the back of Trinity's throat. She also does a COVID test just to be safe.

Trinity tries to hold it in, but lets out a sickly sounding cough, which prompts Baran to check her lungs. She winces at the crackling she can hear in Trinity’s right lower lung. The older woman finishes quickly before telling Trinity to sit tight while she submits the tests to the lab, leaving Trinity to her own devices.

While she’s gone Trinity takes the opportunity to doze.

—

When she wakes up again, Trinity blinks open her eyes to two slightly familiar figures are standing over her wearing masks.

“Santos… Trinity? Are you awake?!” Emma chirps from behind her mask.

“Oh my god,” Trinity startles, then grabs her head because her body aches with the sudden movement. Is this how ET felt?

Baran stands beside Emma with her hands arms crossed. “Rhinovirus? Seriously Santos? You shouldn’t even be on the floor!” She starts up once she sees Trinity open her eyes.

Trinity shrinks back onto the bed, wondering briefly if feigning to fall back asleep would get her out of this one, but the look on Baran’s face suggests theres no way in hell.

Trinity shrugs, “Like I said, I didn’t think it was that bad. I don’t get sick.” She deflects.

“Until today.” Emma adds unhelpfully. Trinity tries not to glare at her.

“That’s why you ask one of the many capable doctors and nurses around you to check you out before you infect everyone in chairs. Did you even consider how bad it would be if a patient caught it or got an infection from their walking petrie dish of a doctor?!” Baran scolds her.

Okay. Fair. Trinity did not necessarily think about that. She has the good sense to look chastised, glancing down at her lap. “I’m sorry Dr. Al-Hashimi. I wasn’t thinking properly.”

Baran stares Trinity down for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh. “Okay. Here’s what’s going to happen, you’re going to sit where while Emma sets up your nebulizer treatment while I prescribe you an inhaler and catch Dr. Abbot up. Then you and I are going to go home.”

Trinity nods, internally grateful Baran thought ahead to refill her inhaler considering her lower lungs are making a fun wheezing noise.

“Wait, why do I need to wait for Abbott? I have my car, I can just drive myself.” Trinity argues while Emma begins setting up the machine.

“Because you’re coming home with me.” Baran explains, a tight expression on her face as if Trinity hadn’t been listening before.

Trinity shakes her head, “You don’t need to do that. I can take care of this myself. Besides, what about the kid?”

“You’re a kid too.” Baran says pointedly. “One who decided she was fit enough to come to work today and her, also a doctor, roommate let her! Sorry I’m not convinced.” She argues.

Trinity grumbles at that, but reluctantly accepts the face mask from Emma, who removes herself from the room the moment she is no longer physically needed. She doesn’t put the face mask on but she holds it up to her face.

“Feel better Santos,” Emma says cheerily out the door, Baran following behind her while also telling her to “stay put” like a dog.

Trinity rolls her eyes petulantly like a child.

Fifteen minutes later a sheepish looking Dennis enters with her backpack slung over his shoulder, her gray UCLA hoodie and blue steel water bottle dangling from his hands.

“I got this for you,” he says, placing it all in a pile on the visitor chair in the corner of the room.

“What, did Baran look up my locker combination now?” Trinity huffs, but Dennis seems confused by her statement.

“Dr. Al-Hashimi? No… no Dr. Garcia approached me after a trauma we ran and gave me the combo. She said you were going home.”

Thats too much conflicting and equally confusing information for Trinity’s sick brain so she drops it.

“This is so stupid. They should just admit me, I could just sleep here.” Trinity groans kicking her feet while still holding the mask that was spitting the breathing treatment.

Dennis shook his head, “You’d be lowest priority. They might even make you wait in chairs.” They both shivered at that thought.

“So are you going with Dr. Al-Hashimi? Or..- Because she was saying that she could let you recover in her guest bedroom. I’m working tomorrow too and I really can’t get sick right now.”

His residency had really picked up the pace now that Robby was back.

“Fine. Enjoy the germ free apartment Huckleberry,” Trinity relents, tossing him the spare set of keys in her side pocket.

Dennis stays until her treatment ends, by then Baran has returned with Trinity’s prescription and having just finished catching Abbott up to speed.

She lets Trinity keep her dignity by letting her walk out of the ED without a wheelchair or much of a scene.

The instant they’re outside of the Ambulance Bay Baran takes it upon herself to guide Trinity to the parking deck with her hand against the small of her back.

Secretly Trinity is grateful for her attendings’ kindness because she is feeling a little light headed.

Trinity collapses into the passenger seat, which is already modified to Trinity’s preference. She was the only other person besides Farouk who was regularly in her car.

Sometimes they took him on little trips to different museums. It was something Baran always clarified she could do herself, but that she was happy to have Trinity come along.

Trinity knows her presence is also helpful with child-rearing a quick witted but stubborn 7 year old with an adventurous streak like his mother.

Trinity sees a flash of Baran’s phone when it buzzes while she’s starting the car.

Baran’s CarPlay announces the arrival of the text from an unknown number. Baran looks down and takes a moment to respond when Trinity realizes she’s also gotten a text message.

From: 🌶️💃 Yolanda (DO NOT TEXT. DRUNK TRINITY IF YOU ARE READING THIS GO TO BED)

Hey 👋 Farmer Brown just updated me. I hope this isn’t too weird but let me know if you need anything. Feel better

Why? Why of all days would Yolanda be trying to contact Trinity when she feels like there’s an Anvil pressing down on top of her bead.